Reincarnated
by K.P. Grace
Summary: An ordinary girl dies in an accident and finds herself reborn as Uchiha Sasuke's twin sister. With the memories of her past life and the knowledge of the future, will she be able to change Konoha?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! As you could can see, this is another one of those stories wherein somebody gets transported into the Narutoverse and yadda, yadda, yadda. I know reading one of these stories could be tiring, but I'll try to make this one as unique as possible. Also, I'll try to make the featured OC as real as possible since like you, I don't really like those Mary Sue-ish OCs that are usually seen in stories like these.**

**Instead of incorporating the usual idea of portal transportation (via computer or magic), I decided to use 'Death' as a means of getting into the Narutoverse.**

**Also to those who like "Cherry Blossom Chronicles," I'm sorry but I'd have to put that story down. I've been lacking in ideas for that story, and I've lost interest in Tsubasa Chronicles. Once again I'm sorry (bows head really low).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

**Reincarnated**

Chapter One: The Accident

RRIIINNGG!!

A loud cheer erupted in the once silent and serious air of Serene Valley Private High School. Today was the very last day and everyone—teachers and students alike—were celebrating. Books and sheets of paper could be seen flying in the air while students raced to the front gates of the school like a stampeding herd of crazed bison. One of those students was a girl named Macky Fujimoto.

Macky was a fifteen-year-old who loved anime, manga, and pretty much anything Japanese. Despite her last name, Macky herself wasn't really Japanese. She got her last name from her Japanese stepfather whom her mother married a few years after her biological father died from an accident involving the sinking of the ship where he worked as a naval officer when Macky was eight. Four years later, her mother met a man named Hirosuke Fujimoto, and well...you know the rest.

As for about Macky herself, well, we might as well know what she looked like; especially since we would only get to see her in her current look just once (or maybe a few times, depending on the story). Why, you ask? Surprise, surprise! I'm not telling...yet.

Macky, as I have said before, is fifteen years old. She was fairly short for someone her age. She had ebony-black hair that was always kept short (reaching only as far as her chin), and a pair of silvery gray eyes (a minor genetic defect, but not really harmful). Her skin has a slight tan. And right now, she is running around in her school uniform consisting of a black vest, a white short-sleeved blouse, a short blue skirt, a pair of folded socks and black loafers (in short, this is the summer uniform). Her family was neither poverty-stricken nor very well off. Her mother was a real estate agent, and her father worked as an accountant.

And as I also have said before, Macky loved anime and manga; in fact, one of her most favorite manga was _Naruto_, and was often seen in the town central park reading a volume or two that she had purchased in the bookstore. Oftentimes, when her allowance was short, she would just go open her Mac laptop and log on to the Internet and go download the more latest chapters (the ones straight from Japan that had been translated). Now I know you might be thinking, "If she could just download the chapters, then why go to all the trouble of buying the volumes?" Well, to be honest, I don't even know the answer to that myself. Maybe she thought it would also be nice to have the official hard copies of the manga itself.

Today was going to be one of those days as she happily walked on the sidewalk of the metropolitan part of town where her favorite bookstore was. After quickly making her purchases, she went back out and onto the edge of the sidewalk were the crosswalk was, excitement tingling in her bones. Macky waited and pressed on the button, waiting for the signal to cross the street, where the park was.

A moment later, the signal finally switched from a hand to a figure of a person walking, and Macky proceeded to walk across, her bag of purchased manga swinging in her hand.

Unfortunately, little did she know that today was also the last day that she would be crossing this very street.

* * *

"HA HA HA! CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, COPPERS!!" a mad laughter erupted from a speeding car. Behind it were at least three other cars—police cars. Their loud sirens blared, signaling and warning people of the chase. The man they were chasing just robbed a bank and stole the car he was driving to make a getaway. Unfortunately, he got caught in the act, which soon led to this wild goose chase. As the chase went on, several traffic rules (and probably some other cars)were broken, and pedestrians almost got hurt. The stolen car made a sharp turn to the right, followed by the police.

However, the robber failed to see a certain pedestrian crossing the street in front of him, for he was too busy taunting the cops. When he decided that he was satisfied, he returned to driving only to see that there was someone in the way.

"What the-?" the robber said, quite surprised. The car was running to fast, and with cops still hot on his trail, there was no time to stop. "Get out of the way, kid!" He honked the car horn several times to catch the pedestrian's attention.

Macky was only halfway on the crosswalk when she heard the loud sound of a car horn. For some reason, it sounded so near, and probably directed at her. When she turned her attention to the main street, her body froze, and her eyes grew wide. She looked like a deer in front of headlights.

"MOVE IT!!" she heard someone inside the car yell, but it was too late for any kind of reaction.

BAAM!!

The next thing Macky knew, was that she felt an intense pain around her midsection and thighs, and that she was flying. She unintentionally released the hold of the plastic bag, and its contents dropped onto the ground. She could hear the sirens of the police cars, the screaming of several eye witnesses, and the owner of the car cursing out loud. Then she felt herself descend rapidly. Down, down, down she went until she finally hit the concrete ground—hard.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" she heard someone yell. Macky wanted to get up; to show everyone that she was alright, however, her current condition proved otherwise. Her body ached all over.

The police had finally caught the criminal and were now busy stuffing him in one of the patrol cars. Some ran towards the girl to see how she was, and saw some blood on the ground.

"This doesn't look good, we have to get her to the hospital right away," said one of them, "Quickly, help me get her in the car." One lifted Macky up, careful not to cause more pain or disturb the wound on her head. A moment later, the police drove away—two to the precinct, and one to the hospital.

* * *

Macky was immediately rushed to the ER as soon as they arrived. Doctors and nurses came in quickly and began prodding and checking on her. The police were contacting her parents. As they were doing so, Macky was starting to feel light headed, and the pain on her body was slowly disappearing.

"We're losing her. Quick, the electric stimulator!" a doctor demanded. A male nurse came up with two nodes in each hand, rubbing them together.

"Clear!" he said, and pressed the nodes on two parallel areas on the girl's chest, inducing a mild shock. Macky jerked a little. The doctor examined the cardiogram next to the bed; the lines were becoming less spiked every second.

"Again," said the doctor. The nurse repeated his previous action, but Macky's condition didn't improve. Macky, on the other hand, was fading away.

"_This is it,"_ she thought, "_I'm going to die. In a weird car accident no less. And summer vacation just got here too."_ The spikes on the cardiogram were turning flatter and flatter. The doctors and nurses were getting frantic. Their voices becoming less audible by the second, and her vision was waning. There was an abrupt sound of running feet, and Macky saw her mother and foster father by her side. Her mother was crying while her father wore a worried look. Her mother looked like she was saying something, but she couldn't hear her, nor any kind of sound for that matter. It was like someone pressed mute on her surroundings.

"_Sorry, mom. But I can't hear anything anymore. Don't worry though. I'll finally get to be with Dad. I wonder though...What would've happened if I just went straight home?"_

That was the last thought Macky had before everything finally went dark.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!

The dreaded sound of a prolonged beeping of the cardiogram told everyone in the room that Macky was now gone. The doctors and nurses hung their heads. And Macky's mother was crying like mad while her husband desperately tried to calm her down.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

_"Italics"_ -- thoughts

* * *

Chapter Two: Reborn

Darkness...

Pitch black darkness...

This was all Macky could see as soon as she faded from the realm of the living.

"Where am I?" she asked to nobody in particular as she assessed her current situation and surroundings. The darkness seemed to go on forever, with no sign of anything else in it besides her. She asked herself, "Is this where everyone goes when they die?"

Being raised in a family who believed in a certain religion, she learned that when people pass away, they'd end up standing in a long line leading to an elderly man in white, holding a rooster and a giant golden key in front of a huge gate. And when its your turn in front of him, he'll search for your name in a huge book. When your name is listed, you'd be granted permission to enter the gate. If not, then you'd end up falling into the 'Bad Place' (as Macky called it, for she wouldn't say the proper name out loud). In her case, there was no line. No gate. No elderly man with a rooster. It was just darkness everywhere.

Macky hung her head in disappointment. "Does this mean I'll never get to see Dad after all?" she asked. She felt like crying. What was she supposed to do now? She was dead, and stuck in the middle of some void, with no one to even talk to. Having no other choice, all poor little Macky could do was fall on her knees and finally break down crying.

"Why couldn't I just go back straight home that day? Why couldn't I move out of the way when that maniac told me to?" she cried all her woes to nobody. "Oh Dad, what's going to happen to me now? I'm neither in Heaven or the Bad Place, and I'm all alone."

Macky had just about given up hope.

* * *

As she continued sobbing, Macky failed to notice something coming her way. When it got close, it started to circle around her; however, the girl didn't even look up, and just kept on crying. It stopped in mid-air for a brief moment before deciding to get as close as her face.

Macky was now wiping the tears off her face when she noticed a bluish glow in front of her. She screamed and moved back when she saw the source of the glow was hanging too close on her face. She rubbed her semi-teary eyes to get a better look.

It was a small blue ball of flame. In her time as an anime otaku, she learned that blue fire balls or "will o' wisps" were representations of a deceased person's soul. Macky felt quite relieved that she wouldn't be alone in this void anymore, but at the same time, she felt nervous. After all, she didn't know what kind of spirit this will o' wisp represented.

The will o' wisp floated closer to her, and circled around her a couple more times to keep her from backing away. It stopped a good foot away from the girl and stayed there.

"Who...Who are you?" asked Macky. Of course, the will o' wisp didn't answer. Gathering whatever courage she had, Macky raised a hand and touched the little flaming ball. It felt cold, and the flames didn't seem to spread like real fire would.

"Are you here to rescue me?" she asked again. The flame suddenly felt warmer.

"So is that a 'yes'?" The will o' wisp did a few somersaults in the air and then went floating away from her.

"Wait! Don't go!" Macky went running after the fire ball.

* * *

Macky has been running after the will o' wisp for quite some time now, and it didn't look that the chase was going to stop anytime soon. It felt like an eternity had already passed, but for some reason, Macky didn't feel even the slightest amount of fatigue or exhaustion.

"Oh that's right, I'm dead now," she reminded herself.

Just when she felt that the chase was going to go on forever, Macky saw a faint spark on a distance, like a light at the end of a really long tunnel. As she got closer, the spark became brighter and brighter until she was forced to shield her eyes with an arm from the intense luminosity. The will o' wisp flew straight into the light, and so did she.

And before she even knew it, it was suddenly dark again.

* * *

When Macky came to her senses. She felt unusually different. For some odd reason, she felt rather...exposed, like her clothes simply disappeared, leaving her totally naked. And also she felt somewhat small and as if she was put into a vat of gelatin. Macky couldn't hear anything save for a strange sound that resembled bubbling goo. She tried opening her eyes only to find that she couldn't.

"_What just happened? I feel like I'm inside a sphere or something," _she thought to herself, _"And why is it so cramped in here?"_ Macky tried to scoot a little to soothe her discomfort when she felt like she had bumped into a lumpy mass which felt like another body. She moved a tiny hand to feel out the mass only to discover that it was another body. _"Guess I'm not all alone in here." _She move back to her original position, and felt a strange tingling sensation somewhere in her abdomen.

"_What the heck?"_ Macky moved her arm in order to grab whatever it was that caused the tingling. It felt rather icky moving anything within the gel-like substance. Her tiny hand felt something long and surprisingly soft. She then ran her hand across it to find where it ended.

She felt dread wash over her when she realized that it ended right at her own stomach. Before she thought that the thing was some kind of rope until Macky realized that it was connected to her.

"_This...This is a cord! An umbilical cord! What happened to me?!"_ Macky quickly put one and one together. _"Oh no, don't tell me." _Although Macky didn't want to even think about it, she finally realized that she had turned into a baby—a baby which wasn't due to be born yet. And right now, she was inside the belly of some woman. To be really honest, Macky didn't know how to react.

Macky soon felt a jerk from the other infant next to her, and a voice which came from outside.

"Oh dear, one of the kids just kicked!" a happy voice, which sounded like a woman's said. Macky nearly jumped. She didn't expect to hear anything from outside. And 'one of the _kids_?'

The way the woman or her soon-to-be new mother said it, Macky also realized that she wasn't alone in the womb. She was curious. Has she gone back in time? Back to where she was born? Why does mom's voice sound different? She pondered about these for a while until she remembered that she was born an only child. This was totally different. It was cramped inside the womb since there was someone in there with her. Whether it was a twin sister or a twin brother, she'd find out soon enough.

Macky was also curious about who her new parents were, so she intentionally kicked one of her own legs. This time, she heard a man speak.

"Feels like they really want out," he said (his hand was rubbing his wife's stomach). The woman giggled, "They must be really excited."

"I can't wait to pop the kids out. I'm so glad we'll be having twins," said the woman. "And one of them is a girl."

"I know, me too," said the man.

"_They sound pretty nice," _Macky thought as she listened to the conversation. The woman sounded gentle while the man sounded rather serious, but caring all the same. Also, her hunch was right, she has a twin. But for some reason, the voices of their new parents sounded quite familiar. Now, where had she heard them before?

She felt another jerk all of a sudden, but this time, her twin had nothing to do with it. Once more, she heard her parents' voices.

"Ugh!" she heard her mother wince, as if in pain.

"What's wrong?" asked the worried voice of her father.

"Fugaku, I...I think my water just broke."

"What?! Right now?" Macky heard shuffling. "Hang in there, Mikoto. I'll get the nurse!" More shuffling noises came and faded away shortly.

Macky was in shock. _"Mikoto? Fugaku? Those names...They sound familiar. Are these people who I think they are?"_ She heard the shuffling once more.

* * *

Fugaku came back a few minutes later with a doctor and two nurses behind him. All four of them quickly went over to the would-be mother who was now moaning in pain and sweating.

"Help me get her to the maternity ward, hurry," the doctor commanded. Both him and the nurses went and started to wheel Mikoto's bed towards the maternity ward across the hall. Fugaku went behind them.

A few minutes of preparation later. Mikoto was ready to give birth. The doctor advised Fugaku to stay by her side and hold her hand for moral support.

"Alright," said the doctor, moving in front of Mikoto to catch (is this the right word?) the babies, "Mrs. Uchiha, just relax and take deep breaths. When I give the signal, push as much as you can." Mikoto nodded and did as she was told.

"_Uchiha? Did I hear that right?" _Macky was in even more shock than before. _"Uchiha, one of the most powerful clans in the village of Konoha from my favorite manga, Naruto? Am I dreaming?" _

She noticed her twin move. _"Is it time to get out?"_

"Ok then, now push!" said the doctor, and Mikoto began pushing, squeezing her husband's hand as the pain came. A while later, a head showed up, followed by a body. When the baby finally got out, the doctor cut its umbilical cord as it started bawling.

"It's a boy," he said. Fugaku smiled with pride. The doctor handed the baby over to one of the nurses to have the blood washed off. Mikoto took in a deep breath while the doctor went back in position.

"Now, for the other one. Push!" Mikoto started pushing once more. She was now squeezing her husband's hand so hard, Fugaku swore he lost feeling in it.

* * *

Macky felt her body slide as her new mother pushed her out of her belly. She heard the doctor's voice, but in her current situation, she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. She then felt hands slowly pulling her out. A few minutes later, she was free. She wanted to gasp for air since she wasn't in the gelatinous substance anymore. But when she did, her gasp came out as a cry.

A few hours later, after she and her twin were finally clean and grime free. They were covered in blue and pink blankets; then they were carried to their parents by a nurse.

"Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Uchiha. You are now the proud parents of a pair of healthy boy and girl twins," the nurse said, beaming, handing the babies to the parents. Fugaku held his newborn son while Mikoto held her new daughter.

Macky stared at her new mother with her now open eyes and saw that it was indeed Mikoto Uchiha—_the _Mikoto Uchiha from the Naruto manga. She looked to the man sitting by her bedside, and saw the familiar face of Fugaku Uchiha.

"Hm?" mumbled Mikoto, staring at her newborn. _"Silver eyes? Weird."_

The door squeaked open a few minutes later.

"Oh, Itachi. You made it just in time," said Mikoto upon seeing her eldest son enter the room. "Come take a look at your new siblings." Six-year-old Itachi went over and saw the babies.

"What're you going to name them?" Itachi asked as he and Macky had started a staring contest. Itachi then noticed something off, particularly on his new younger sister's eyes whereas his mother, Mikoto furrowed her eyebrows, trying to come up with a name.

Apparently, Itachi also noticed the baby girl's peculiar irises.

* * *

A moment later, Mikoto looked at the babies thoughtfully.

"This one," she said, poking Macky's nose gently, "Is going to be _Sachiko Uchiha_." Macky gave a tiny moan, for her new name sounded like something one would name their pet rabbit.

"And this one...," continued Mikoto, moving on to the baby boy, but got cut off by Fugaku.

"His name will be Sasuke. _Sasuke Uchiha_," he said.

"Good enough," said Mikoto who then gives the babies a loving kiss each.

A while later, the nurse took the babies back to let their mother rest for a few more days. Macky, or Sachiko, as she was renamed, was placed on a crib in the infants' ward next to her new twin brother, Sasuke. Needless to say, that if you're a fifteen-year-old reborn as a baby with your personality still intact, you'd be pretty bored out of your mind. With nothing else to do but lie down most of the time and listen to the other babies' (including her twin's) incessant wailing, Sachiko pretty much wanted to pull whatever tuft of hair she had out. Her bones weren't very strong yet, so she couldn't even raise her head to see whoever was coming inside whenever she heard the door open. So as a result, Sachiko would just either sleep or silent count the tiles on the ceiling.

"Hey, you see that baby girl over there?" a lady nurse asked to another, pointing at the direction of Sachiko.

"You mean that Uchiha girl? What of her?" said the other lady nurse.

"Well, didn't you notice that she almost never cries? And if she does, it would only be because she was hungry or needed a diaper change."

The other lady nurse p'shawed. "Don't all babies cry when they're hungry or need a diaper change? You're just thinking a little too much. Must be the stress getting to you."

"Yeah, I know that. But this one instantly stops when she gets what she wanted. Don't you find it strange, even a little?" said the first. There was a moment's silence.

"You need a vacation," said the second.

"Yeah maybe I do."

* * *

A week later, Sachiko(Macky) and Sasuke, along with the rest of the Uchiha family, finally got out of the hospital. Mikoto carried Sachiko while Fugaku carried Sasuke. Itachi walked beside them.

Sachiko turned her head a little in order to get a glimpse of the Hidden Leaf Village, and was taken with awe at the sight of it. _"My gosh! It's even bigger than it looked in the manga,"_ she thought. Sachiko then turns back to her mother.

Mikoto noticed her baby girl stare at her with big silver eyes. She smiled, finding it cute.

"There, aren't you glad to be finally out of the hospital?" she talked in a mock baby voice, which made Sachiko inwardly cringe.

Sachiko decided to snuggle in deeper into her covers soon after and took a nap the rest of the way to the Uchiha compound where she'll live from now on with her new family.

"_This has to be a dream. I've been born into the Uchiha family...as Sasuke's twin! This-This can't be happening."_ Macky rubbed her eyes with her little baby hands. _"Wait a minute. Now that I've mentioned it, how DID I become a baby?" _She tried to recall everything from when she had died. The darkness. The will o' wisp. The chase. The bright light. Afterwards, something finally clicked into her mind.

"_It can't be..I've been reincarnated." _

* * *

**I'd like to say that any resemblances to other stories are purely coincidental. Since this story involves death and rebirth (It's in the title), I had to explain a little more on how Macky was going to be reborn. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow! Thanks for giving me more than a hundred hits. I've never really expected that many with just a couple of chapters into the story. Also, thanks to those who reviewed. They really keep me going. Sorry for the long wait though. I had to study for a big test in Anthropology (though I probably blew it :P)**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

_"Italics"_--thoughts

* * *

Chapter Three: First Few Years Part One

Usually, when a soul is bound to be reincarnated, it goes through a recycling process in which it is cleansed of the memories of the past life. This allows for the soul to start over as a clean slate once it is reborn into a new body; however, there are a few rare cases in which it retains its past memories even when reincarnated. Sachiko Uchiha, or Macky as she once was in her past life, was one of those rare cases.

She still couldn't believe that she was actually reborn—in a whole other dimension no less, and with memories of her past life. Of all places to get reincarnated in, it had to be this one. It wasn't that she didn't like being reborn in the shinobi universe; in fact, she was really excited. If this were some kind of dream, then she definitely didn't want to wake up. Once she gets old enough to walk and talk, she'd be able to have all kinds of adventures, hopefully, with a certain number one, hyperactive, knuckle headed ninja although she was also a bit worried about being an Uchiha considering what will happen to them (and maybe to her as well) sometime in the future. But for now, that worry had to be put aside, for Sachiko has a lot of growing up to do.

Being just a few months old, there wasn't much to do. It was very difficult to wait years to relearn the basics of being a human again like walking and talking since her bones and vocal cords weren't very well developed yet. Sachiko would often get restless, frustrated, and refuse to sleep(Mikoto once scolded her that if she didn't get any sleep, she wouldn't grow tall). She didn't like the idea of wearing diapers, but she didn't have much of a choice because she was too little to use the toilet. As a result, Sachiko was afraid to do anything whenever she drops a load, and would often cry out to her mother soon after to get changed and be rid of the ick.

* * *

Mikoto handled taking care of her two baby twins most of the time, especially since Fugaku was often out working at the Konoha Police Force. Sometimes, when both parents are out, Itachi would stay in the house or other relatives would come over and watch over them. Whenever the relatives looked at Sachiko, the first thing they noticed were her strange silver eyes. They would often ask either one or both parents whether there was something wrong with them.

"We don't know yet, but she doesn't seem to be blind, that's for sure. We're planning to get her looked at when she gets older," Fugaku often said when asked.

At age one, Sachiko and Sasuke had learned (or in Sachiko's case, RElearn) to sit up. It wasn't much, but the sight of it was enough to make Mikoto ecstatic, earning weird stares from both her husband and first born son. Other than that, Sachiko learned that baby food didn't taste as good as it looked, but she had to eat it or she'd starve. She also developed a liking to teasing her brothers, which she found highly exhilarating. It has been a while since she teased or annoyed anyone on purpose, being raised without any siblings to come up with any pranks with at home in her past life. Despite that, she still had friends who often came up with a lot outrageous ideas and pull her along with it—like that one time wherein they put a rubber cockroach on another friends cold juice drink. It was a hot day, and the victim caught sight and started to chug the drink. Needless to say he wasn't very happy when he saw the toy cockroach in the glass.

Whenever Itachi made any attempts to hold or carry her, Sachiko would either bite or lick his hand. When he poked her on the head like he did Sasuke in the manga, she'd pretend that it hurt and would start crying and screaming, which made Mikoto stop from whatever she was doing and scold Itachi. She would often play around with her food when Mikoto wasn't looking, throwing bits of it at Itachi's face. There was also this one time when Sachiko purposely pulled down Itachi's pants, getting a glimpse of his underwear in the process. When Mikoto came in and saw this, she looked at her son as if she just saw a ghost.

"Uchiha Itachi, why are you flashing your underpants in front of your baby siblings?!" she said, clearly provoked by his behavior.

"But mom--"

"No excuses, just pull up your pants before anyone else sees you like that." Itachi obeyed. Even as a prodigy, Itachi couldn't help but be afraid whenever he gets scolded by his mother. Both Sachiko and Sasuke giggled as he did as he was told.

It wasn't that Sachiko hated Itachi; in fact, she never really hated anyone(except Orochimaru, he's pure evil). Well, at first she did. But that was until she read the very latest translated chapter of the Naruto manga on the Internet back when she was Macky. She wasn't sure anymore what to think of him, or the Uchiha clan for that matter. Heck, she wasn't even sure whether to believe what was mentioned in the manga. Sachiko would be forced to make a very difficult decision in the future since she knows what was going to happen.

For now, she just wants to find out if the prodigy of the Uchiha clan was capable of having a facial expression other than stoic, but so far, Sachiko was only successful in bringing out the expression of annoyance. It was almost invisible, but the slightly lowered eyebrows helped tell her that it was there.

"That was really annoying, little sister," said Itachi to Sachiko, his face in its usual stone look. Sachiko merely giggled and clapped her hands. Seeing this display of cuteness, Itachi momentarily forgot his annoyance and felt his cheeks warm up a little. He smiled a little and sat down, putting his little sister on his lap. Little baby Sasuke crawled over to them, not wanting to be left out.

"You're a strange one, you know that?" said Itachi, gently tapping a finger on Sachiko's nose. Sachiko looked at him questioningly. Itachi scooped up Sasuke so he was seated next to him. "I've been watching in the past nights. When everyone else went to sleep, you'd practice walking and standing up. I know because I keep hearing you fall back down." This time she looked at him as if he grew a second head. _"You were spying on me?"_

"Other than that, you don't always behave like other babies. You don't cry unless you really need to. You seem to understand what is being said to you," Itachi continued. "And you also seem to have a...strange ability." This was somewhat true as Itachi and the rest of the family had found out the other day.

_Flashback_

_Uchiha Fugaku was frantically wandering all over the house, his eyebrows furrowed, and was lifting and looking under the furniture. Mikoto was busy cooking lunch in the kitchen. Itachi was watching his twin siblings playing with some toys on the dining table. Sasuke was playing with a stuffed cat while Sachiko played with a set of letter blocks._

"_Has anyone seen my newly bought kunai set?" asked Fugaku, opening the cupboards._

"_Where was the last time you've seen it?" Mikoto asked back._

"_That's the problem, I can't remember," Fugaku answered. "It has been only a few days since I bought it. How could I not remember where I put it?"_

"_Well a lot has happened in a few days." Mikoto took a taste from the curry sauce she was making. "Maybe you were just too busy to remember."_

"_That's not helping," said Fugaku as he began to look in the drawers._

"_Mom!" Itachi suddenly called, "Come look at this."_

"_I'm busy at the moment. Why don't you have your father look?" Fugaku looked up to his wife from the drawers._

"_What?" he asked his eldest son._

"_Look at what Sachiko is doing." Though a little bit annoyed that he was cut off from his search, Fugaku went over at the dining table. Itachi was standing behind his little sister, who he noticed, seemed to be spaced out and staring into the distance while putting some blocks onto the table. Fugaku looked at the blocks, and eyes widened for the first time in his life._

"_Lunch will be ready in five minutes," Mikoto said happily, turning from her cooking only to see her family gathered around the table, staring at something. Slightly irked from being ignored, she decided to investigate._

"_What is everyone looking at?" she asked, coming over as well. "Oh my...!"_

_On the table, Sachiko had arranged the blocks to form the phrases:_

**UNDER THE FUTON **

**INSIDE YOUR CLOSET**

_No one could believe what they were seeing, except of course, Sasuke who didn't have a clue what was going on._

"_Honey, I think she's talking about your lost kunai set," whispered Mikoto to her husband. Fugaku slapped himself upon the realization and hurried to his and his wife's room._

_Mikoto turned to Itachi. "Have you been teaching your sister the alphabet?"_

_The boy shook his head. "What I really want to know is how she knew where dad's missing kunai set was without even knowing where your closet was at (Sasuke and Sachiko slept next door to their parents)." Mikoto didn't say anything more. Later, Fugaku came back with a small plain white box in hand._

"_Did you find what you're looking for?" asked Itachi. Fugaku just nodded and stared at his daughter who seemed to have snapped out of her daze and was looking right at him with her big silver eyes. How did his daughter, who was no older than two, and too young to speak, read or even know the alphabet, could have possibly known where his lost item was? _

"Just who or what _is_ this child?" _he thought_.

_No similar incidents happened days later._

_Flashback end_

Sachiko couldn't remember most of what happened that day. The only thing she remembers was that she was playing with blocks one moment, and the next, her family was staring at her strangely and the blocks were arranged to form words on the dining table.

"_Oh yeah. That happened a lot too when I was Macky,"_ thought Sachiko. In her past life, she would often get random unexplained memory lapses. The lapses, to her, felt like ages although a few seconds only pass in real time. By the time she gets back to reality, she often found herself being given weird stares by people, especially by her classmates at school. Other than that, she'd also find simple phrases, denoting location most of the time, on her notes or on the chalkboard that she didn't even remember writing. When she didn't write about a location, she'd write about a possible future outcome. The predictions were at least 85 accurate.

That was when people started calling her "The Fortune Teller". And since then, students and teachers alike would come to her either for help finding a lost objects (and pets) or predicting questions to a test. And most of the time, she'd tell everyone that she couldn't really do any predicting on a whim; it just sort of happened. When her parents learned about this (after predicting the location of her mother's long lost earring), they had a psychiatrist and a neurologist examine her, only to find the same results: Nothing. Nothing was wrong with her, and that she was just a normal little girl. Neither of them believed that she could predict anything. Seven doctors and shrinks later, her parents decided to finally give up trying to figure her out.

This time, however, she actually _knows_ the future. But only because she read and watched all about it on a manga and an anime.

Itachi began stroking his little sister's tufty head. Sachiko grew even more surprised—this was something she never expected Itachi would do, but she didn't mind at all. A moment later, Sachiko's eyes began to droop, and she let out a yawn. She tried to stay alert, but her efforts proved futile when she finally laid her small head on her big brother's chest and fell asleep. Sasuke fell asleep as well a little while later due to Itachi stroking his back.

Itachi then leaned a little closer to his sister so his lips were close to her ear. "Madara-sensei is curious about you too," he whispered, "He says he can't wait until you've grown up a little." Sachiko didn't react. She was too busy sleeping.

"He thinks you're special," he continued, "Just like me."

* * *

Two-year-old Sachiko stood in front of a mirror. Yes, I said 'stood'. Four weeks after their second birthday, Sachiko and Sasuke stood up and began taking their first steps in front of their family's very eyes. Sasuke started first, waddling a bit like a penguin towards his mother before his knees gave away and falling in her open arms. Sachiko went next, though more stable than her twin due to her practicing every night before and walked a straight line towards her father; however, unlike Sasuke, she remained standing. Mikoto started swooning over her twins. Fugaku remained passive, and simply ruffled his daughter's hair in acknowledgement. Itachi tried to tell his parents that Sachiko already learned how to walk months before Sasuke did. Of course, they didn't believe him. Sachiko(Macky) was just glad that she could walk again. She couldn't help but miss her older, taller teenage self sometimes since as a teenager, you get to have a little bit more freedom.

Sachiko also decided to stop acting like a baby. Not that it was bad, mind you. It was somewhat nice to be young again, but having to act like a little kid when mentally and spiritually mature was kind of a challenge for her. Her sudden maturity was becoming evident to the other members of the family. Like for instance, Mikoto suddenly heard the sound of a toilet flushing one day, and saw her only daughter coming out of the bathroom when she was wiping the floors clean. And there was this one time when Fugaku and Itachi caught her "looking" over their jutsu scrolls (Sachiko had to run away every time she got busted). More importantly, at this age, Sachiko was already doing something what most people learn to do when they get past the toddler stage: taking care of herself.

Just awhile ago, she was making her way to the bathroom carrying a towel and a fresh set of clothes. Twenty minutes later, steam suddenly came out as the door opened, startling Itachi who had been walking in the hall where the bathroom was. By the time he could see properly, he saw a tiny figure walking away dressed in a yukata with a towel wrapped on its head.

This brings us back to Sachiko in front of the mirror in her parents' room.

Right now, as you can tell, she was examining her reflection at the same time as she was brushing her hair (the brush borrowed from mom). She hadn't got the time to look at herself back then, being a baby and all (and she still was though physically).

"_Whoa," _she first thought when she saw herself, _"I haven't changed at all. My eyes are still the same."_ She turned her head a quarter to the side. _"Though I have duck-butt hair now. Looks kind of different than Sasuke's though."_ True. Sachiko's duck-butt hair spiked down instead of up like Sasuke's did. Her bangs split down the middle fringed on both sides of her face (albeit longer). She really looked like the girl version of her twin brother.

"_Hello, what's this?"_ Sachiko focused her sight on a stray lock of hair by her bangs that curled upward, giving her a hair antenna. She smoothed that spot on her head to bring it down, and it stayed down...for two seconds before springing back up again.

"_What?"_ She tried to bring it down once more only to get the same result. Several failed attempts later, gave up and left the room.

"_It's not so bad, I guess; in fact, it kinda looks cute."_

As she walked, she pondered about what her first word should be. Sachiko wanted to be able to talk as soon as possible, for she fears that she'd forget how to talk the longer she stayed silent. She wanted something unique as well since 'papa' and 'mama' were too generic for her tastes. She had been giving herself voice lessons at Uncle and Auntie's house. And because she spent some time there, Uncle and Auntie became the first people to hear her voice although she never spoke at that time. Uncle and Auntie heard her _singing_ while tending to their small bakery (Sachiko inwardly commented that she sounded like a squirrel). Needless to say they were quite amazed and fascinated at the fact that a two-year-old learned how to sing before learning how to speak. The couple didn't realize that Sachiko was only doing it as a part of her speech practice. As she went back home, she couldn't help but feel guilty since it was usually the parents who get to hear their child's voice first before anyone else.

Sachiko heard the ecstatic voice of Mikoto when she came into the living room.

"Oh my gosh! Sasuke-chan just said his first word!" she squealed. "Come on, Sasuke. Say 'mama' one more time."

"Miracles have been becoming quite common nowadays," said Fugaku, curving his mouth to the best smile he could muster.

"I wonder if Sachiko-chan could talk now as well. I mean, she learned to walk the same time as he did," said Mikoto.

"Now, now, only one at a time, Mikoto," said Fugaku. Itachi came in shortly, looking ready to leave.

"Going somewhere, son?" asked Fugaku while Itachi put on his sandals.

"Yeah. Shisui told me to meet him by the training grounds," said the boy, "He didn't say why. He just told me to come." Fugaku snorted.

"Knowing that kid, he'd probably want to spar with you again," he said.

Mikoto laughed. "Oh, you know them. A friendly spar is their way of male bonding."

Sachiko rubbed her eyes as they spoke. For some reason, she started to get tired all of a sudden—sleepy to say the least. She held on to the sliding door in case she fell.

"_What's happening? Why do I feel so tired?"_ she thought. Then without even realizing it, she spoke out loud.

"Shisui is setting a trap."

The happy chatter suddenly died out, and all eyes were on her. The everyone exchanged surprised glances. Nobody expected her first spoken words to be a full sentenced prediction.

"Did Sachiko-chan just...?" asked Mikoto.

"Yeah, she did," answered Fugaku.

"_A trap?"_ thought Itachi. Sasuke remained quiet, and stared at his twin sister who had a glazed look in her eyes. Fugaku walked over to his daughter.

"Sachiko, what kind of trap?" he asked, worried for his eldest. But before she could answer him, Sachiko snapped back to her senses, and looked at her father with a puzzled look; then she noticed everyone was looking at her weird.

"_Again?"_ This was the second time Macky unwittingly gave a prediction in her new life as an Uchiha.

Fugaku gave a disappointed sigh. "Nevermind." He stood up and left.

"I'll go. I've got to see what Shisui wants me for," said Itachi, and went over to his little sister. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." He ruffled Sachiko's and Sasuke's hair. The younger boy grumbled in annoyance. He didn't like his hair ruined.

Unexpectedly, Itachi leaned over and whispered on his sister's ear. "Thanks for the warning." Then, he too left, leaving Mikoto and the twins.

Later that night

Mikoto was setting the table for dinner. Everyone, except for Itachi, were already seated—Fugaku at the head, and the twins sat at the far end facing each other with Sasuke on the left side and Sachiko on the right. The extra spaces near their father belonged to their mother and elder brother who has yet to return. They all seemed to have forgotten (or chose to forget) the earlier incident involving Sachiko's prediction.

There was a hiss of the sliding door opening. Everyone looked and saw Itachi; there wasn't a scratch on him, and he was smiling.

"Shisui thought he could catch me off guard with a series of traps. Obviously, he forgot that I could avoid or deflect them," he said, sitting down on his spot at the table. "You should have seen the look on his face when I told him that I knew about them."

"That's good to hear," said Mikoto, taking her place at the table.

"As expected from my child," said Fugaku.

"Well, I wouldn't have known about them if it weren't for Sachiko." Itachi looked to his sister's direction resulting in Sachiko squeaking and blushing in embarrassment. She turned away to hide her blush.

Although he could only understand a little of what they were saying, their tone, actions, and behavior told Sasuke that his twin was somehow special. He frowned slightly, a tad jealous of the attention everyone else gave her.

Mikoto clasped her hands together. "Well then," she said, "It's time to eat."

"Itadakimasu!"

The rest of the night went by peacefully.

* * *

**I wanted to go on further in this one. But since I took too long in writing the first year, I decided to split the chapter. Part Two coming soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed! It was a very big surprise for me to have such a number of reviews in just a few chapters. I really couldn't believe it when I saw how many came in.**

**By the way, I forgot to tell you guys that this fanfic is NOT a self-insert. Macky, although her name may sound somewhat like my username, isn't in any way like me. Macky is an OC whose name I randomly came up with.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own Sachiko (Macky) though

_"Italics" --_ thoughts

Chapter Four: First Few Years Part Two

The sun rises at the start of another beautiful day. Three-year-old Sachiko Uchiha woke up as soon as the sunlight touched her small pale face. She sat up on her futon and stretched, followed by a faint yawn. She looks down on her twin brother who was still sleeping (his futon was lying next to hers) with weary eyes. She lets out another involuntary yawn and rubs her eyes. Then she stood up to fix and put away the futon.

Her nose suddenly caught a delicious smell as soon as she shut the closet. _"Smells like mom decided on a continental breakfast today."_ Mikoto was an excellent cook besides being a good mother. Not wanting to leave her twin out, Sachiko went up and began to shake him.

"Sasuke, wake up." The boy merely grunted and turned over. She tried again.

"Sasuke, c'mon. Can't you smell mom's pancakes? If you don't wake up soon, I just might eat your share," she said, her voice laced with the slight threat. Sasuke growled a little at being woken up. He sat up and said, "Fine!" He proceeded to put away his futon while Sachiko took out some clothes and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

Later, the twins had arrived in the dining room with fresh clean faces and clothes. Sasuke had on a dark blue high-collared shirt and white shorts while Sachiko wore a short baby blue yukata that went a little way past her knees with a red obi and adorned with peach blossoms on the sleeves. Of course, their attire wasn't complete without the family symbol around the back.

Their father was already at the table; their mother putting the last pancake on a small stack and setting it on a plate in the middle of the table. Itachi hadn't came in yet. He was either still sleeping, or in the bathroom. The twins greeted their parents who either greeted back or simply nodded in acknowledgement, and sat on their spots at the table. Itachi soon came in a little while later. A few more morning greetings later, the family began to dig in to their breakfast.

"_Wow, I never thought we had silverware, being a rather traditional Japanese family and all,"_ thought Sachiko as she put another piece of pancake into her mouth with a fork. "Mom?" she said. Mikoto looked in her direction. "What is it, honey?" she asked. Sachiko swallowed before asking yet again.

"Is there an occasion?" Mikoto shook her head.

"Oh," said Sachiko, taking yet another bite. _"To be honest, I can't help but feel weirded out by this."_ Yes, having to eat a foreign breakfast _did_ seem a little odd in that kind of setting. Sachiko decided to not push the topic further as it wasn't really important.

Mid-day

It was high-time that Sachiko decided to go out of the compound and explore the rest of the village. Three years felt like an eternity. Back in her room, she began packing a few small items in a small backpack: a small pad of paper, a few pencils (sharpened, but not to sharp), and a set of kunai and shuriken that she decided to "borrow" from her father and older brother. You probably want to know what the paper and pencils are for, right? Well, Sachiko thought that it was a good idea for her to start relearning her alphabet. And like with talking, it was best to practice as early as possible since she hadn't done any writing for a very long time. She couldn't take out any of her family's scrolls anymore because of the many times they had caught her looking through them. Fugaku may have let it slide since he thought she couldn't read yet and was simply looking at the letters absent-mindedly. Itachi, however, had grown suspicious due to her mature behavior in spite of her age, and hid his scrolls somewhere safer. Sachiko decided to check out the village library later for the necessary learning material for jutsus.

"Mom, I'm going out!" she called as she sprinted down the hall towards the door and putting on her sandals. She was out before Mikoto could even answer.

"Hey, Sachiko!" the familiar voice of Teyaki Uchiha, also known as Uncle, called out to her while she ran. Sachiko stopped to look his way. "Where are you going?"

"Outside," the girl answered, smiling. "I'm going for a walk around the village today."

"Is that so?" Uncle's wife, Aunt Uruchi, said. "Are you sure you'll be fine going on your own? Maybe you should take Sasuke along with you."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. As for Sasuke, I think he's out with Itachi somewhere," Sachiko answered, then she began to pout, "It's not fair! Those two never let me do anything with them. I may be a girl, but that doesn't mean I can't do anything they can." _"I'm technically older than them for crying out loud!" _Believe it or not, in spirit, Sachiko was in fact, eighteen years old.

"Whoa! That's mean," said Uncle. "Have you tried talking to them?"

"Yeah, but it's the same answer each time." Sachiko did a mock voice imitation of Sasuke. "It's because you're a girl..."

"That's too bad," said Auntie, "Hopefully when you're older, they'd start to appreciate you more and stop underestimating you."

"Yeah, we could only hope," said Sachiko with a hint of sarcasm. Afterwards, she adjusted her backpack so it would hang comfortably on her shoulders. "Well, I'd better get going."

"Hold for a minute," said Uncle suddenly before Sachiko could take a step. The girl looked at him questioningly. A brief moment later, she was handed a small paper bag.

"You never know when you're going to get hungry, so here's a little treat for you," said Auntie, beaming. Looking inside the bag, Sachiko saw an assortment of bread and pastries.

"Wow, thanks!" Sachiko bowed in appreciation though careful not to let the bag drop its contents. "I'll see you later then!" She waved goodbye and ran off. Uncle and Auntie watched as she disappeared through the compound gate.

* * *

For the second time in her new life, Sachiko gazed in wonder around the huge village; the first time when she was a wee baby.

"I almost forgot how big the village is," she mumbled to herself as she walked on the street. Every nook and cranny of the village seemed to be lined with shops, and people were everywhere. Sachiko quickly spotted the Hokage Tower and the Monument that easily reminded her of Mount Rushmore.

"_Let's see...My first order of priority is to find a place where I can train. Somewhere secluded and hidden from everyone else,"_ she thought to herself. _"Oh, and I should check out the library too."_

Sachiko got herself too wrapped up in her thoughts that she failed to notice someone running at her direction though several loud shouts managed to snap her out of it.

"Get back here, Kyuubi brat!"

"Why don't you just die and go to hell!" Sachiko looked up to where the ruckus was coming from. She saw a boy, around her age with messy golden hair and blue eyes. His face had the look of terror as he ran from the men chasing him. The boy noticed Sachiko blocking his path.

"Hey you! Out of the way!" he yelled to the silver-eyed girl. Sachiko started panicking when she realized that she was standing in front of a small stampede of people. She looked back and forth for a place to retreat. Luckily, there was a dark alley at the end corner of the street and went straight there; to add to her luck, the surrounding area had no people hanging around.

She peeked through the alleyway to get a careful look at what was going on. The running boy looked strangely familiar to her.

"_Golden hair, blue eyes, whiskers on each cheek, vague resemblance to the Fourth Hokage..."_ She gasped. "Naruto!"

Naruto ran like there was no tomorrow in hopes of losing his chasers. And although he had a lot more stamina than a normal person, it was coming short. The only thing that kept him going was his strong desire to survive.

He took a glance behind him; then he set his sight straight back, wishing he hadn't looked—his chasers were getting closer, and started throwing kunai and shuriken at him. The projectiles didn't really hit, but they manage to inflict minor painful cuts on his arms and legs. He ran even faster, causing a side-stitch on his left. But he ignored it as he kept on running.

* * *

Sachiko saw that Naruto was getting closer to where she was, and quickly thought of a plan. As Naruto came close to her, she quickly grabbed him by his arm and pulled him away behind a stack of boxes deeper in the alley. They both sat down to conceal themselves better.

Fear clouding his mind, Naruto began to struggle against his captor's hold. "Who-Who are you?" He was answered by a hand covering his mouth.

"Quiet, they'll hear you," whispered Sachiko, listening to the chasers wonder where their quarry has disappeared to. The boy quickly obeyed.

"Hey, where'd he go?" a large man who seemed to have led the chase looked around in search of his lost prey.

"I dunno. He just vanished somehow," said another man.

Naruto saw the girl(or what he guessed was a girl)next to him slowly stand up.

"What're you doing?! They'll see you!" he whispered.

"Saving your life," whispered back, "Stay here." Sachiko walked away; towards the men who where still looking for the boy.

* * *

"What'cha doin'?" Sachiko asked the large man, looking innocent.

"Who said that?" the man asked, looking around some more. Sachiko sweatdropped at his display of stupidity. "Down here," she said, tugging the man's shirt. The man turned and finally noticed the little girl behind him.

"Oh, hey there," he said, "We're looking for a boy. He's looks your age. He's got blond hair and whiskers. You seen him?" Sachiko pretended to be in deep thought.

A moment later, she smiled and answered, "Yes!"

Naruto peeked from the boxes and overheard the conversation. "I knew it," he said to himself dejectedly, "It was too good to be true."

"He ran off deep into the forest over there." He then heard Sachiko say. "He must be really really fast if you didn't see him go that way." The man scratched the back of his head.

"Oh right, of course." _"He _is _the Kyuubi brat after all."_ He called to the other men and together, they ran off. Making sure that they were gone, Sachiko went back into the dark alley.

She found the boy huddled in the corner. Fear was still evident on his face as he looked at her. She took a step closer. He didn't move.

"G-Go ahead, do it!" said Naruto, surprising the girl, "You...You're going to kill me, right? That's why you distracted them." Sachiko stopped. Clearly, Naruto had learned to never trust anybody no matter who they are—even if they were kids like him. Sachiko looked at him in sympathy, but Naruto couldn't tell because the light in the alley they were in was dreadfully dim.

"_Poor kid. The villagers already hate him, and he's only three years old. I don't even want to think what those men would do if they manage to catch him."_

"That's some way of showing gratitude to someone who just saved your life," said Sachiko rather crossly, her hands making their way to her waist. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you."

Naruto looked at her, looking unsure. "You're not?"

"No! Why would I wanna do that?"

"B-But the village--"

"Tch! Who cares what _they_ think? Obviously everyone is too narrow-minded to see that you're no monster."

"So...You don't hate me?"

"No."

Naruto found this hard to believe. He was speechless; no one acted this way towards him before. They stared at each other...for a moment or two.

"_O-kay...Now what?"_ Sachiko thought for a moment; then her eyes lit up and she began rummaging into the paper bag she had been holding. _"Can't believe I almost forgot about this."_

"You hungry?" she asked as he handed the boy a fair-sized bun. "All that running must've worked up an appetite." Naruto stared at the bun, then at the girl, not sure how to respond to such random act of kindness that was being offered to him. The only other person who was this kind to him was the Third Hokage; however, because of his position, he was too busy to look after him.

"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking," said Sachiko when Naruto didn't make any move to take the bun.

"Oh, th-thanks." Naruto shyly accepted the bun and took a bite. "Wow, this is good! Where'd you get this?" Sachiko giggled.

"My aunt and uncle own a bakery at one corner of town. They give me and my brothers some free samples from time to time." she answered while Naruto ate. But then she suddenly caught a whiff of something that resembled rotting vegetables. She pinched her nose in disgust. They _were_ in an alley after all—where people usually put their garbage until they get picked up by the 'garbage disposal units' as she called them since she didn't know whether the village had a garbage truck (or any kind of vehicle).

"Let's get out of here. This place reeks," she said, letting go of her nose and grabbing the boy's arm and pulling him out of the dark alley. Naruto finished eating and had swallowed the last piece of the bun.

"Hold on a second, I don't even know your name," he said as he was dragged out into the light. Sachiko turned to face him.

"It's Sachiko. Uchiha Sachiko," she said, but Naruto didn't seem to be listening. He seemed to be transfixed on her, and she could've sworn she saw little stars in his eyes.

"_She's cute,"_ he thought now that he had a good look at his savior. Sparkling lights made her face shine and flowers bloomed around her (Naruto vision).

"Hey, are you okay?" Sachiko's voice immediately pulled him out of his fantasy. Naruto silently gasped and saw Sachiko's hand waving in front of his face.

"I-I'm fine!" he stammered. "Sorry." He scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, by the way," he said. "N-Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," said Sachiko although she already knew. But technically, this was her first actual meeting with him so she decided to play along. _"To be hated from the day he walked on this earth, Naruto hasn't known what it's like to have someone other than the Third actually care for him. He even lives all alone. Hmm...I wonder..."_

"Would you like to be friends?" Sachiko then asked. This struck the boy speechless. Nobody dared or even tried to offer to be friends with him. People would often avoid him like a plague.

"R-Really?," he asked after finding his voice. "You mean it?"

"Of course! Like I said, who cares what anyone thinks?" She offered her hand, and Naruto shook it—a gesture of sealing a pact.

* * *

In an office on top of the Hokage Tower, a certain old man watched the interaction between Naruto and a girl he came to know as Sachiko. A smile crept up on his wrinkled face. _"Looks like Naruto has finally found a friend..." _he thought, _"This could get interesting."_ At the meantime, he continued to watch the crystal ball.

* * *

"Say Naruto, do you know any place where nobody comes around?" Sachiko asked, remembering suddenly why she was out in the first place. Naruto went into thinking.

"Hmm...ah!" He snaps in fingers. "There's this cave hidden behind a waterfall not far from my place. Nobody ever comes anywhere near there...well, maybe except me when I need a place to hide from the other people chasing me," he said. "Do you need a hiding place too?"

Sachiko shook her head. "Nah. I just need some place quiet to train in."

"Why?" It was the silver-eyed girl's turn to stammer.

"W-Well..." she began, trying to come up with an excuse. _"Why do I wanna do this again?"_

"I wanna become a great kunoichi when I grow up, so I decided that I should start practicing now," she said. _"I sounded like a little kid. Then again, I AM a little kid." _This was true for the most part. Becoming a full-fledged ninja in this universe was one of her dreams when she first starting reading the manga in the other world.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Really?! I wanna become a great ninja too! I wanna be Hokage someday so people would acknowledge me, believe it!" he said, becoming his old cheerful self. His eyes sparkled with excitement (_"Well, that's Naruto for you,"_ thought Sachiko).

"Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we train together?" he suggested. "That way, we could get stronger even before we get into the ninja academy, and we'll get to see each other often."

Sachiko thought for a moment. "Hmm...Actually..." she mumbled. "Not a bad idea. So, which way is it?"

"Great!" Naruto cheered, happy that he was going to have not just a friend, but a training buddy as well. "I'll show you, but we'd have to make a stop at my place first to get some stuff."

Sachiko agreed. She was interested to see where Naruto lived considering the fact that he was an orphan who was all by himself. They set out together towards the place he considered home. Along the way, the villagers cast glares and whispered amongst themselves at the sight of them.

"Hey look, it's the Kyuubi brat," whispered one villager.

"That crest. Isn't that the symbol of the Uchiha clan on that other kid's clothes?"

"What is a member of the Uchiha clan doing with that..._thing?_"

One villager even had the gall to call out: "Hey, didn't your parents tell you no to go anywhere near that kid!?" Nevertheless, Sachiko simply ignored them. The same couldn't be said for Naruto though as she saw him glaring at the ground, looking as though trying to restrain himself from lashing at the last villager.

"Just ignore them," she told him. "They're not worth a glance."

Naruto nodded and the two of them kept on walking with him in the lead.

**Sorry if this chapter was a bit boring. I got distracted by watching Disgaea on the net (:P) and broke my train of thought on this story (Shame on me!). I planned to make it a bit longer, but I kept getting stuck on some scenes. Right now, I'm in the process of writing the next chapter. See you soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright. It's been a while since I updated, and I'm very sorry for making all you wonderful people wait.**

**To blue-tempest: Well, I kinda DID forget about those things. I had so much fun writing the previous chapter that I didn't realize any of those. Other than that, I have been trying to put in the part where Sachiko starts her self-training, but as you can and will see, I failed. My knowledge of children, particularly their manner of speaking is very limited so I decided to make the child characters able to speak full sentences. And yeah, Sasuke does seem to grown up for his age, but I had to have him do something that will make Sachiko have an excuse to leave (other than boredom; though in spirit, she's already an adult). As for the Uchiha crest, thanks for the info. I'm not a very good observer, so I may have missed some things about the Uchiha. **

**Also, I'm sorry if the Uchiha parents were/are rather OOC. I'm not very good a portraying them correctly; try as I might.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own Sachiko.

* * *

Chapter Five: Meeting the Hokage and Family Matters

The two reached the apartment safely. As soon as the blond boy opened the door, Sachiko's mouth went agape at the sight of it—it was a complete mess! Various items from clothes to scrolls, to other unidentifiable things were scattered all over the place. She couldn't even tell where the furniture were.

"_What the--? It looks like a wild party went on here. This place is a total dump!" _Sachiko thought in horror, _"How can Naruto live here? How can _anyone _live here?"_

"Heh heh...Sorry about the mess," apologized Naruto. "Come, I'll show you around." He went inside, careful not to step on any trash. Sachiko followed him although with a little difficulty since her hands were full. Naruto pointed out the various rooms in his tiny apartment: the main room which consisted of a kitchen, dining room, and living room (the one they were just in), the bathroom, the lavatory. Sachiko could only make out a few of the already scarce amount of furniture there was. The rest were somewhat buried in the mess. They all seemed to be graying with all the thick dust that covered them. The small tour ended at the bedroom, which was almost as filthy as the main room.

"Since when was the last time you tidied up this place?" asked Sachiko when they were done.

"Uh well..." Naruto began scratching the back of his for the second time that day. "A while, I think. I spend most of the time running from villagers whenever I go out shopping for ramen. And when I'm lucky enough to make it back here, I'm usually worn out so I don't have much energy left to clean." Sachiko breathed out an "oh".

"_Makes sense. I wouldn't have much time to do something as cleaning up if I spent nearly all day running."_

Automatically, Sachiko put down the paper bag and her backpack onto the bed after shoving away everything else on it. She found a broom tucked inside the closet, and faced Naruto with a serious look in her eyes. The confused boy just blinked.

"Alright then," she said. "I'll help you clean up. But we gotta be quick and careful at the same time if we want to finish early."

"What? No!" said Naruto, waving his hands in front of him. "You're a guest. You're not supposed to clean or anything!"

"I specifically said that I'd 'help'. With that I meant we're doing this together," Sachiko rebutted. "So are we gonna get started or what?"

"S-Sure."

Four hours later...

Both Sachiko and Naruto collapsed onto their hindquarters panting and wheezing after turning the once dirty-as-a-pigsty apartment spotless. They were covered in dust and there were small light smears on their faces. The two kids were so worn out that they fell when they were done.

"_Man, who would've thought doing such a simple chore would take a lot out of me."_ Sachiko was used to doing chores as Macky. But it appears that it proved difficult today because of her small three-year-old body.

"Finally...done!" said Naruto in his tired relief. Sachiko could only not in agreement as she was too tired to speak. Then out of habit, she looked at the wall-clock hanging high up on the living room wall. It read 4:30 in the afternoon. _"Oh no, I'd better be getting home!"_

Sachiko regained proper breathing and a little energy a moment later. "Hey Naruto. I think it would be best if you show me that cave you were talking about tomorrow," she said. "I'm beat and fithy."

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed. "I'll wait for you here at home."

"Deal. But first, a quick nap." Sachiko went and let herself fall on the couch, quickly falling asleep. Naruto followed suit and slept next to her since he was too tired to go to his bed. Seconds...minutes...hours ticked by. When Sachiko finally woke up, the clock hanging on the wall in the nearby kitchen had read 6:45 in the evening.

"Oh no!" the girl screamed, waking up Naruto in an instant. As he awoke, he saw Sachiko dashing madly into the bedroom.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked in his still groggy half-asleep state. Sachiko hurriedly put on her backpack (the pastries have been eaten up so they won't be around anymore) and fixed her hair that got messed up in her sleep.

"I can't believe I fell asleep in almost three hours!" she said frantically, "So much for a quick nap. Mom's gonna kill me if I don't get back in time for dinner!" She turned and found Naruto facing her.

"Sorry Naruto, but I gotta go." Sachiko jogged towards the door of the main room. But before she could get a good grip on the door, a hand was on her shoulder.

"Wait, Sachiko," said Naruto. "It's getting dark outside. It's wouldn't be safe if you go out there all alone. Trust me, I know."

"But I can't stay here either," said Sachiko, getting close to panic, "All my parents know is that I went out for a walk. They don't know where I am exactly. If I don't get back home soon, they'll have the entire Konoha Police Force scan the village from the inside out." Minutes were going fast. Anxiety was starting to build up.

"L-Listen Naruto. Don't worry about me," she told him, "I'll see you tomorrow, 'k?" With that, she left quickly.

"Ok..." mumbled Naruto though rather uncertain and worried for his new friend's safety.

* * *

Although it had already gotten pretty dark outside, the night was still young. The village was still alight with shops and people. This felt very reassuring for Sachiko though she was still cautious. Who knows who or what could be lurking in the shadows, waiting to snatch a young child walking alone in the street. A normal three-year-old would be very frightened and start to cry while looking for his or her parents. But as we already know by now, Sachiko wasn't a normal three-year-old. She stopped crying for attention or for anything else once she was past one.

Right now, she just kept on walking back toward the Uchiha compound, where the only thing that would be waiting for her a was stern lecture from one or maybe both parents—her very first lecture in just three years of her new life. She avoided catching the eyes of the town drunkards as she quickened her pace and lowered her gaze to the ground. The farther she went, the darker the village seemed.

Then a few minutes later, she bumped into someone and staggered as she tried to keep standing up. But since she was lacking in training, she couldn't even flip to save herself. Sachiko felt herself falling.

Surprisingly, the painful impact didn't come. She felt something holding her steady. "That was close," she heard a rather rough voice say. Sachiko looked at the person in front of her.

"Th-Thank you, Hokage-sama," she said. The Third Hokage stood in front of her, smiling albeit quite intrigued at the little Uchiha girl. _"She knows that I'm the Hokage, yet this is the first time we meet." _He knew her from watching the crystal ball in his office. But now that he was face to face with her, he needed to make sure. "You're very welcome," he said. Sachiko regained her balance and now stood upright in front of the old man. "By the way, young lady, what's your name?" he then asked.

"I'm Uchiha Sachiko," the girl replied with a bow. "Um...What brings you here at this hour?" She was looking directly at him. The Third quickly noticed her eyes.

"_An Uchiha, eh? Strange...As far as I know, all Uchiha have black eyes. This one has silver...Could it be...?"_ he thought before letting out a chuckle. "Glad to meet you, Sachiko. And shouldn't I be the one to ask you such a question? It's very dangerous for a child to be outside at night."

"I know, and well...I was going back home anyway," said Sachiko.

"Then would you like me to walk you home?" the Third offered. Sachiko hesitated at first, but seeing that she really didn't have any other choice, she accepted. She took hold of the Third's hand, and together, they made their way to the compound.

* * *

"Itachi! Call your siblings. Dinner is almost ready," said Mikoto to her eldest son as she began setting up the tabe. As usual, Fugaku was already sitting on his spot, waiting for the rest of his family to get ready.

Itachi came back into the kitchen/dining room with little Sasuke tagging behind him. "Mom, I can't find Sachiko."

Both parents turned to face him. "What did you say?" asked Fugaku.

"Sachiko—I can't find her anywhere," said Itachi. Mikoto cast a worried look at her husband who furrowed his brow. She had heard Sachiko telling her earlier that she was going to go out, but she didn't say where or when she will be back. She let it slide, thinking that she would only be hanging around within the compound. It had been quite a few hours since that moment, and now Mikoto couldn't help but feel anxious and responsible for letting her only daughter leave and wander around unsupervised.

"It's alright, we'll find her," said Fugaku, reassuring his wife. However, before he could put his words into action, everyone heard a sound of the front door sliding open and a tiny voice saying "I'm home!" out loud. Everyone recognized the voice instantly. Mikoto rushed to the source of the voice, followed closely by her husband and sons. At the sight of Sachiko, she immediately went and pulled her into a nearly suffocating hug.

"Air...need air," Sachiko mumbled in her mother's arms. Mikoto quickly let go of her.

"Where have you been? Do you know what time it is? You had us all so worried!" she said as her maternal instincts took hold of her.

"It's ok, mom," said Sachiko, "Hokage-sama was kind enough to walk me home." Mikoto then took notice of the old man by the door. She quickly stood up and regained composure.

Fugaku turned up next to his wife and bowed in front of the Third. "Thank you for bringing our daughter safely home, Hokage-sama."

Mikoto turned to her daughter. "Now what do you say to Hokage-sama?" Sachiko looked at her for a moment before understanding what Mikoto meant, and bowed down in front of the old man and saying "Thank you" herself.

"No need to thank me. It's just fortunate that Sachiko and I met before anything happened," said the Third modestly.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" asked Mikoto. Once again, the Third kindly refused, saying that he might be needed back in his office and left shortly. Leaving the Uchihas to retreat back into their home.

"Let's get you cleaned up first, you look like you've been rolling in dirt." Mikoto led Sachiko to the bathroom. Sachiko tried to tell her that she could wash up by herself, but Mikoto quickly retorted that she might drown in the tub. She didn't press on further since she knew that it was her fault for not telling her of her whereabouts. But to be completely honest, she didn't really know where she was going until she met Naruto, so there pretty much wasn't anything to tell. She also knew that her mother was upset by the way she held on to her wrist on the way to the bathroom.

"Sorry," she mumbled loud enough for Mikoto to hear as she got undressed and put into the tub. Mikoto didn't answer, but Sachiko could tell that she heard when she saw her mother's expression soften a bit. And although she had been taking baths all by herself since age two, Sachiko let her mother wash her up as another sign of apology.

Another memory of her past life flashed in Sachiko's mind as Mikoto scrubbed her back—the first time she went back home late in the evening. Her drama teacher had announced that their class would be doing a play celebration of the school's Fine Arts Week. The class picked out West Side Story as their play, and she was unfortunate to get stuck with the lead female role. Classes got suspended in preparation and scripts were handed and everyone got started on studying their lines on that same day. Adding to her misfortune, she completely lost track of time and got home at nearly nine o'clock (the bus was late). After one heck of a lecture and a detailed explanation, her mother gave her a hug and told her that she was just glad that she (Macky) was home safe and sound.

That was pretty much what happened to Sachiko earlier except she had the Hokage to walk her home, she was a toddler, and her new mother was giving her a bath. This time, her getting home late didn't happen at a stroke of necessity since she deliberately went off on her own.

"_Maybe I'm just being impatient,"_ she thought to herself, _"I may be technically old enough to be on my own. But to them, I'm just a little kid who still needs to be watched over."_

"Everyone was right, you really are a strange child," said Mikoto as she washed Sachiko's hair. "You know, if you wanted to go out, you could have waited for me or at least waited for me to call someone to watch you over. You could have gotten hurt or picked up by shady characters lurking at night." The young girl could clearly hear the worry in her mother's voice, but she didn't say anything. "I know you want to grow up, but..." she trailed off not knowing what to say next. She poured water over Sachiko's little head to wash away the suds.

"I'm sorry..." the tiny girl mumbled once more.

* * *

Everyone was quiet at dinner. The only sound that could be heard were the clinking of chopsticks at each time they made contact with the surface of their bowls when they reach for a bite of rice. Fugaku noticed his daughter scooping and eating smaller amounts of food than usual and looking a tad gloomy. Sasuke had noticed this as well since he had been looking at Sachiko as he ate.

"Ne, nii-chan," he gave Itachi a small nudge, catching his attention, "Is Sachiko sick?" Itachi looked to Sachiko and saw her current state.

"What's the matter, Sachiko?" he asked her. The girl just shook her head, not looking up from her fixed gaze at her food. Both brothers stared for a moment; then resumed eating.

"_Only three years old and already seeking her freedom,"_ thought Fugaku after watching Itachi try to start a conversation with his sister and failing. He then focused his attention to his daughter—his silver-eyed daughter who seems to have a strange ability to predict things, be it the near future or the location of lost or missing items. Relatives who had contact with her and have been witnesses to her unexpected predictions have said on secret meetings that it was possible that he had another potential prodigy born into his family. The child had already shown such promise, and with proper training and the Sharingan thrown in, she just might turn out just like or maybe even surpass Itachi.

But with the circumstances that had already passed, Fugaku knew that he'll have to make careful decisions as his daughter was already beginning to behave independently at her young age.

"Sachiko," he called. The said girl stopped eating to look at him. The father sighed. "If it's what you really want, you'll be granted the freedom to walk around outside; however..." Everyone else's attention was now on him. Mikoto looked rather surprised at her husband's announcement, but waited for the rest expectantly.

"You will have to be accompanied by a responsible elder," Fugaku continued. Sachiko couldn't believer what she just heard, but Fugaku wasn't finished. "You have to be near him at all times. Don't you ever leave his sight." He took a sip of his tea.

"And just who is this 'responsible elder' that you speak of exactly?" asked is wife, not wanting to leave her daughter in the hands of some stranger. Fugaku put his glass down.

"I've decided Shisui be the one to watch her," he answered.

Silence...

"I don't know. Shisui isn't exactly good with little children," said Mikoto.

"I'm actually fine with it. You don't have to worry, mom. She'll be fine," said Itachi as he and Shisui were very close. "What do you think, Sachiko?"

Sachiko thought for a moment. In the manga, Shisui was only mentioned a few times, but she never saw his face or knew what he was like. All she knew about him was that he was Itachi's best friend and cousin; in fact, Itachi looks up to him like an older brother. This could be a perfect opportunity to get to know him.

"Okay," she said though meekly.

"Then it's settled," said Fugaku, "From now on, whenever you want to go out, make sure to go to Shisui first. But if he's not around, you have to stay in the compound. Itachi, tomorrow you show your sister the way to his house since she doesn't know where he lives, understood?"

"Yessir."

"Uh-huh."

"Good." Fugaku drank the last of his tea. "By the way, tomorrow the family doctor will be coming to see you, so you'd better be here when he arrives." Fugaku then stood up and left.

"_But...I'm supposed to meet someone tomorrow."_ Sachiko stared at her father's retreating back with a dumbfounded look, clenching her fists tightly on her lap, hidden from sight. Itachi himself stared at her, taking note of her current internal dilemma that seemed to portray itself on her face.

* * *

Sachiko was already on her way to her and Sasuke's room after washing up a little and changing into her sleeping attire (a plain white yukata...I think) when she accidentally bumped into Itachi. Luckily for her, the impact wasn't as strong as it had been when she bumped into the Third earlier.

"_Man, I seem to have a knack for bumping into people lately,"_ she thought once she steadied herself.

"Are you ok?" asked Itachi.

"I'm fine," replied Sachiko, rubbing her forehead. "Anyway, I have to go to bed now. 'Night Itachi."

"I believe the proper term is 'onii-san'," said Itachi with an air of authority.

"Spare me the lecture. I'm tired and I wanna go to sleep." She walked a few steps and slid the door to her and her twin's room open. Sasuke was still awake though and was busy playing with some toys on the floor. Itachi watched as she went. But before she completely went out of his sight, he decided to give her a little piece of advice.

"Don't rush it," he told her, his tone changing to a more brotherly manner. Sachiko looked back at him in confusion.

"It's obvious that you want to grow up quickly," he said, "But you're only three years old. You should just take it easy for now. Otherwise, you'll only end up getting hurt." The tatami under Sachiko's feet started to look interesting as she took in Itachi's words.

"Just leave all the difficult stuff to me and our parents." He ruffled Sachiko's hair and went on his way to his own room.

"Ok..." she said softly, but Itachi was now gone. Sachiko stood on her spot for a moment. "Take it easy, huh?" she mumbled, "Easier said than done." She wondered to herself. How can someone with a mature mentality and knowledge of future events 'take it easy'? If her memory serves her right, in a few months, there will be a major incident regarding the Hyugas. The problem was she hadn't met either Hinata or Neji yet. And with her status as an Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga's overinflated pride, it would be very difficult to gain his trust let alone believe her if she tries to warn him about it since she knew that both major clans didn't get along well.

So many problems, so little time.

Deciding that she really needed sleep, she went inside her and Sasuke's room. Sasuke was in the process of putting away his toys and failed to notice his twin sister slip into one of the two futon that were already lying in wait on the tatami floor. He laid himself onto the one next to Sachiko, and everything became quiet...for a few seconds.

"Sasuke, you asleep?" Sachiko asked, turning to face her twin brother. The said boy turned around. "What?"

"Nothing. I forgot," she replied, burying herself in the covers.

"Hey," Sasuke said all of a sudden, "What did Itachi-nii mean when he said you wanted to grow up quickly?" Sachiko was caught off guard at this question.

"You heard?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Sachiko smiled. She hated to admit it, but she couldn't help but envy Sasuke a little—he didn't really have to think about the future because unlike her, he didn't know it. And because he didn't know it, he didn't have to worry about it.

She faced him once more; this time, with an empathic look. "To be honest...I don't really know."

* * *

**Does this story seem slow paced to you? Sometimes I think it does since there are a lot of things that need to be considered (I won't go into detail).**

**If you have any ideas regarding this story, feel free to tell me.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Whew! It's been quite a while, but I finally did it. I finished the next chapter. I had to get over writer's block for a little while.**

**To Cristalake: I had mentioned somewhere in my past chapters that I have a very limited knowledge of children. Yes, I do have siblings (all of which are teens now); however, it's been a long time since they were babies so I only remeber a few things about that time aside from them bawling their little lungs out for attention and them making their first step in a couple of years. I'm sorry if the way the children in this story were portrayed made you somehow upset. However, if it's Sachiko were talking about, then you must understand what it's like for someone to be reborn and still have their grown-up memories intact. If it were me, I'd like to relearn the basics of speech and bipedalism as quickly as possible.**

**Oh jeez, I hope that wasn't too much.**

**To freezedrive: An enhanced I.Q. and gadgetry knowledge? Sounds Sue-ish (no offence meant). However, you have inspired me of something else, but I'm not telling what it is. I'll see where I'd be able to fit it in the story.**

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters and settings belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Sachiko belongs to me.

* * *

"_What? Where am I?"_

_Sachiko found herself standing on a very high cliff that seemed to oversee the Land of Fire. She could feel a gentle breeze blowing. She could also clearly see Konoha from her spot; however, there was something strange about the village._

_The village seemed three times smaller than it currently was._

_Sachiko heard light footsteps near her. On reflex, she immediately looked to the direction of the sound. There, she found that she wasn't alone._

_A lady, who looked to be at least in her late teens, was looking down on the small village as well. She had pale skin, long black hair, and was dressed like a shrine maiden. Birds, white doves in particular, were gathering around her, making her look almost like an angel._

"_Who...?" Sachiko mumbled softly. The lady didn't respond or anything; she just kept on staring at the vast landscape in front of her._

"_Can't you hear the wind blowing?" asked the lady without even turning to look at her. Sachiko looked more confused than ever. "I think you already know who I am."_

"_Huh?" She must be dreaming. The lady was a complete stranger to her. But somehow, somewhere deep inside her was a strange familiarity. It was as if she knew her from a long time ago, like she was a very close friend. Sachiko didn't know why._

"_Who are you?"_

Chapter Six: The Gathering of Birds and the Waterfall Cave

Sachiko woke up before dawn the next day. She was groggy and her hair was a complete mess—a clear evidence that she didn't have a good night's sleep. The sun hadn't risen yet. She guessed the time would be around three or four o' clock in the morning—way to early for anyone, even the Uchiha. She tried and miserably failed to go back to sleep.

"_If this keeps up, I might end up a shrimp,"_ she thought as she sat up. Seeing that it was now impossible for her to fall asleep once again, Sachiko decided to go about her usual morning routine and went straight to the bathroom without putting away her futon since the activity might wake up Sasuke.

After a good hot shower to wash away the grogginess from her system, Sachiko was feeling refreshed. The house was still quiet, which meant that nobody was up yet. Sachiko made her way to the kitchen to fix herself some early bird breakfast.

"I wonder what I should make," she mumbled while looking through the cupboards and the fridge (she had, of course, to stand on a stool for further access high up). Looking back on her memories of her four years of Cooking classes and being her mom's kitchen helper back in the other world, she lightly pounded her right fist on her left palm as if to say "Eureka!"

"I got it!" she said, and proceeded to fish out the right ingredients. "Let's see...I'll need eggs, sausages, tomatoes, garlic, onions, shrimp (dinner leftover), bread for toast, and I think there's still some rice left over from last night's dinner." She checked the rice cooker. "Yup, still some left. I hope they wouldn't mind having small portions. Ok, let's get cracking!" Sachiko let out a small giggle. It has been a long while since she made this kind of breakfast, and was happy at the thought of it.

Sachiko hummed an otherworldly tune as she put bread on the toaster, fired up the stove (with an oiled wok at ready), and minced the garlic and onions. When she was done, she went to separate the yolk from the eggs and put them in a small bowl. The oil in the wok cackled loudly when she put in the garlic, forcing her to steer clear from the stove to avoid getting hit by droplets of hot oil when it started popping. She added the onions shortly after and began stir-frying.

Her actions, however, didn't go unnoticed when the aroma of garlic and onions went and filled the house. The first to wake was none other than Itachi.

"_Mother's up early today,"_ he thought as he got up from bed, not knowing what truly awaits him at the kitchen.

Parents' Room

It didn't take long for the smell of garlic and onions to reach Fugaku's nose. He didn't mind at first, for he thought that it was Mikoto cooking in the kitchen. He turned on his futon, and by instinct, draped his strong arm over his wife who was lying next to him.

Wait a minute...his wife?

Fugaku's eyes popped open and saw Mikoto sleeping peacefully beside him and not in the kitchen, cooking. But if Mikoto was right there, then who was in the kitchen. Itachi? No way. He may be exceptional when it comes to ninjutsu, but he didn't have any experience in regards to cooking. That leaves only Sachiko and Sasuke, but they're only three.

Suspicious, Fugaku decided to get up to see who was in the kitchen so early in the morning.

* * *

Sachiko was now in the process of mixing the egg yolks with the mixture of stir fried rice, garlic and onions when she felt something or someone coming towards the kitchen. For some reason, the presences, albeit still far, felt warm and close.

"_I wonder if this is what it feels like to sense chakra," _she thought, _"Heck! Since when was I able to sense chakra?"_ She felt a strong urge to hurry up her cooking, but feared that the dish might be ruined. If anyone found her out, how would they react? She had already surprised the family loads of times with her behavior. Would this be any different?

Sachiko was to busy thinking about the 'what if's' that she failed to hear the kitchen door slide open.

"Sachiko?" Itachi's voice quickly snapped her back to reality. Elder brother and younger sister stared at each other with wide eyes. The shrimp that Sachiko had been holding with chopsticks dropped onto the finished Golden Fried Rice as she lost her grip.

"You're...cooking?" Itachi's eyes wandered over to the dining table where plates of toast, sausages, and tomatoes along with empty tea cups were neatly arranged. On the stove, near the wok where his little sister did her cooking was a boiling teapot. A moment later, Fugaku arrived, sporting the same reaction as his eldest son.

"Good...morning?" Sachiko greeted nervously.

* * *

"I don't believe it! This is really good," said Mikoto, taking another spoonful of Sachiko's Golden Fried Rice. Like the rest of her family (minus Sachiko), she couldn't believe that her three-year-old daughter actually knew how to cook. She didn't recall giving any type of instruction regarding the skill. _"Maybe she was sleepwalking,"_ she thought since it was absolutely impossible for a child at that age to know how to cook. How Sachiko managed to pull off such a feat was beyond her or anyone. Mikoto decided to simply dismiss this since Sachiko had been watching her cook sometime before.

However, Sachiko was fully aware of her actions at the time; but the family didn't need to know that now, don't they?

"_Oh well. At least I didn't have to cook today."_

"Ehem! Sachiko," Fugaku called his daughter who looked at him with questioning eyes. "As to remind you, the family doctor will be coming in today. Unless he comes, you are not to go outside the house. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," answered Sachiko, her eyebrows slightly furrowing. _"I'm sorry Naruto. I'm afraid I might not make it today."_

Knock! Knock!

"Oh that must be him," said Fugaku as he stood up. "He's mighty early today." He looked to Sachiko. "Finish your meal and meet me at the living room as quickly as possible." With that, he left to meet the guest.

Sasuke was so confused. The family doctor was at their house to look his twin sister over. But Sachiko didn't look the slightest bit ill. Or was she?

He had his speculations the night before, but no one really answered him when he asked about it—this made him worry.

Living Room

Sachiko left for the living room a moment later as Mikoto offered to wash the dishes. When she came in, her father beckoned her to sit on the spare cushion next to him. Seated in front was the Uchiha family doctor. He was a rather lanky old man with a pair of rectangular spectacles that hung low on the bridge of his nose, and a stethoscope hung around his neck. His graying hair was tied in a high ponytail, giving his head a pineapple look. A short thin handlebar mustache with a matching goatee sat on his wrinkled face. A large medical bag was right next to him. After a quick introduction between the doctor and patient, the examination started.

"Now what seems to be the problem?" asked the doctor, repeatedly running his thumb and pointer finger on one side of his mustache. "The girl looks quite healthy to me."

"Health is not the problem," said Fugaku. "My main concerns are her eyes."

"What about them?"

"Well..." Fugaku looked at his daughter who stared back at him with her silver orbs. He turned back to the doctor. "I think some kind of mutation had occurred when she was still being conceived. Normally, an Uchiha's eyes would be black; however, Sachiko's eyes, as you can see, are silver." The doctor leaned closer to the girl to get a better look at her eyes. Feeling a bit creeped out, Sachiko pulled back, staring cautiously at the old man.

* * *

"Mom, is there something wrong with Sachiko?" asked little Sasuke while handing over his empty plate to his mother.

"I don't think so. Your father probably wanted to see if she was healthy," said Mikoto, "She went outside yesterday. He must be worried that she caught some germs from being so dusty."

"Can I go see her?" Mikoto wiped her hands on a nearby towel and turned to her small son. "I'm worried, mom. She didn't look so good yesterday at dinner." Sasuke remembered his twin's forlorn expression and glum aura—the way she kept her head low and the way she ate her dinner slowly and in tiny amounts.

"You may see her after the doctor leaves. They're probably talking about something very important right now, so leave them alone for a while, 'k?" she said, winking. She left the kitchen afterwards to do her usual chores. Sasuke watched her disappear, his worried look not leaving his small face.

A moment of contemplating and debating with himself later, his worry was replaced with determination. He was a twin. And as with most twins, he didn't like being separated from his other half for a long period of time. Take yesterday for example. He discovered that Sachiko was gone long before Itachi had at dinner. When he realized it, Sasuke felt depressed, anxious, and a little bit frustrated. He sat for the for the remainder of the afternoon on the outer hallway in front of his and her room, waiting for her to come back home, hopefully safe.

There was a theory that twins share a strong spiritual bond far stronger than that of between married couples, friends, and even family—that was probably because they were born together. If something had happened to one, it was only fair that the other should know about it. It was only until yesterday when Sasuke realized that he didn't like his twin having to hide anything from him.

Was Sachiko hiding something from him?

A frown crossed his face as he went out of the kitchen towards the living room where his father along with his sister and the family doctor were, but the door was shut. He could hear the voices of two men talking. Slowly and carefully, Sasuke pressed an ear on the sliding door, hoping to get a gist of what was being said.

* * *

"I want to know how her condition would affect her bloodline limit," Fugaku finished.

The doctor adjusted his glasses as he and Sachiko stared at each other. "I see. Very well, I will begin the examination. I'll inform you of the results once I'm done."

Fugaku was made to move to the back of the room since he refused to leave his daughter alone. The door was sealed tight to avoid outside disturbances. The eye examination was different from what Sachiko had speculated. Unlike in the Other World, the process used more medical jutsu than equipment (as she had been wondering why she wasn't taken to a place with more heavy equipment). Then again, the examination was centered around the bloodline limit, something nobody in the Other World had.

The entire process took a total of three hours. By then, the time read at ten in the morning. The doctor packed his things back into his bag and stood up. He was followed by Fugaku. The two started to head outside the room.

"Stay here Sachiko," the Uchiha clan head ordered when he saw her attempting to follow them. The girl had no other choice but to do as she was told.

When Fugaku slid the doors open, he saw his youngest son stumble back in the hall. The boy looked at him fearfully before averting his gaze to the shiny wooden floor in his apparent shame. The man glared at him without saying anything and went to the farthest side of the hall, disappearing at a turn.

Sachiko went over to her twin as he stood up and brushed himself. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," said Sasuke.

"What were you doing in front of the door anyway?" she asked again.

"N-Nothing," Sasuke said, stammering. Sachiko looked at him with a calculating look.

"You were worried about me, weren't you?" The male twin did a double-take.

"W-Was not!" he retorted, "I was just curious, that's all." Sachiko giggled.

"Oh, don't hide it. I can see it on your face. You _were_ worried about me," she said. Out of ideas for a comeback, Sasuke simply pouted (_"Eek! I never thought he was that cute when he does that!" _screamed Sachiko mentally).

"Speaking of hiding," said Sasuke. Sachiko put her silliness to rest at this. "Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Are you hiding something from me?" Sasuke had a pretty serious look on his face, causing Sachiko to be taken aback. "Where were you yesterday? Everyone was worried about when they found out you were gone—namely me!"

Sachiko never thought that Sasuke would catch on pretty quick about the matter. Maybe it was a twin thing. Her expression became sullen and gloomy like last night.

"I guess there's no use hiding it from you anymore," she said, "Fine, I'll tell you. But only if you promise not to tell anybody else; not even mom, dad, or Itachi." Sasuke nodded. Sachiko then proceeded to tell everything that happened yesterday.

"And today, I'm planning to go back and see Naruto again so he could show me this secret place of his," she finished.

"Oh," said Sasuke. "I see." Then he went into thinking. "Can I go with you?"

"Huh, what?"

"I said, can I go with you?" Sasuke repeated. Sachiko began to fidget. "I promise I won't tell anyone about this as long as I get to go with you."

"_Only three years old, and he already knows how to bargain__.__ Wonder where he learns it from.__"_ Sachiko let out a heavy sigh and agreed.

* * *

"What are the results of your test, doctor?" asked Fugaku to the old man before him.

"Well...Her eyesight doesn't appear to have a problem," answered the doctor. "Your daughter's vision is a perfect 20/20. Her irises are most likely have a minor discoloration, but nothing serious."

"Will it have any affect on her bloodline limit?"

"I couldn't say for sure. She's far too young to awaken the Sharingan. Maybe in a few more years, we'll know."

"I see. Thank you, doctor."

"Don't mention it. Call me again anytime." He left the Uchiha compound shortly after. As soon as he was out of sight, the Uchiha Head retreated back into the house, but not before noticing something strange just outside of his house. At first, he heard something that sounded like wings flapping and beating against the soft morning breeze. Shifting his gaze to the dirt road in front of his home, he found several birds walking or hopping around. Some settled on the branches of the few trees in the compound.

It only got stranger when Fugaku realized that the birds only had his house surrounded; the rest of the Uchiha District was left alone. He shook his head in disbelief and muttered something about migration when the sound of loud hurried footsteps and the sight of his twins running down the hall he was walking in greeted him. Both seemed to be excited as neither were paying attention to where they were going.

Sachiko suddenly saw her father in front of her and quickly stopped; but she immediately fell over onto the floor when Sasuke, who was following closely behind, bumped into her back. He fell over as well.

"How many times has your mother told the two of you not to run around the house?" asked a stern-looking Fugaku as the twins got off each other and soothe the places that hurt when they fell.

"A lot," answered Sasuke playfully.

"May we go outside?" asked Sachiko, rubbing her nose. The man looked at them in silence for a second or two.

"We?"

"Oh, Sasuke wants to come too," said the little girl. She looked at her father with a pleading look, hoping he'd say yes.

Twenty seconds passed. . .

"Alright." At this the twins let out cries of joy.

However, Fugaku wasn't finished. "But, like I said last night, Shisui has to come along with you as well." The twins stood up.

"Ok!" said Sachiko. "Thanks dad!" She called on Sasuke and the two of them went to find Itachi, so he could show them where Shisui was since they didn't know where he lived.

"Just be back before lunch. I don't want your mother to worry."

* * *

Luckily for the twins, Itachi was on his day off from missions today. He decided to make it a non-training vacation in order to catch up on his much needed rest—even full fledged shinobi needed breaks from time to time.

He was just getting ready for a nap when he heard his sliding door open suddenly.

"_Aniki!"_ his twins siblings called in unison. Well, so much for his nap.

"What is it?" the elder asked his two siblings in a tired voice.

"Could you take us to cousin Shisui?" asked Sachiko.

"Oh, father agreed to let you out," said Itachi. "And you seem to be ready," he said at the sight of the small backpacks on their backs.

"You two look like you're going out on an expedition or something." The twins just smiled. Sachiko even stuck her tongue out playfully at him. The twins began pulling on his arms to get him to hurry up.

"Alright, I'm going! Stop pulling me."

A while later, the siblings were on their way to Shisui's place. It was a small house located a few ways behind Uncle and Auntie's bakery. They saw Shisui sitting on his porch, sipping tea.

"_Wow. That's Shisui Uchiha?"_ Sachiko giggled. _"He almost looks like a __teen__ version of Jin from Tekken. . . But with __longer hair__."_

The said teen soon caught sight of the three as they came near and waved cheerfully at them. "Hey, Itachi!"

"Hey," Itachi greeted back.

"And what do you know, it's the twins Sasuke and Sachiko!" Shisui proceeded to ruffle the twins's hair with both his hands ("Hey!" said Sasuke in protest).

"Your big brother here has told me a lot of pretty interesting stuff about you two," the man continued. He then turned to Sachiko, his voice lowering slightly through his still smiling face, "Especially you."

Sachiko cast Shisui a questioning look while Itachi's eyebrow twitched a little. _"Does he know about my prediction ability?"_

Getting back to the situation at hand, Shisui asked, "So what brings you lot over here? Come for a friendly visit, I suppose?"

"No," answered Itachi. "Father has officially appointed you as a guardian for these two on their trip around the village."

"So..." Shisui scratched away an itch at the back of his head. "I'm babysitting your two siblings, is that it?"

"Pretty much."

"But why can't _you_ do it? You're their big brother. Besides you're free all day!"

"Father already made it official. And since this would be my only day off in a long time, it would be good to have a nice long rest." Itachi looked at the twins. "I'll see you two later. Promise me you'll behave around cousin Shisui, alright?"

"Okay," said Sasuke.

"Uh-huh," said Sachiko. Itachi smiled and patted both their little heads before going back to the house.

The older man pouted, "Hmph! You're just making that up," he said as the younger went back home.

"Alright then. So you two wanna go around the village," Shisui said, turning to the two toddlers in front of him. "Say, what's with the backpacks? Are you--"

Sachiko quickly cut him off. "That's a secret!" She apologized soon after for her rudeness. (Children as young as her weren't allowed to interrupt their elders while they were talking).

Shisui decided not to pry any further and stood up. "O-kay, let's go then. I know a lot of good (and child appropriate) places in the village. And since you two are very small, you'll have to stick with me at all costs, understood?" he said. _"Because your father will have me castrated if I lose either of you."_

"Ok!" the twins chorused. Then taking a hold of each of the elder man's hands, the three set off to explore the village.

As they went towards the gates of the compound, Shisui couldn't help but notice the birds around the Head Family's house.

* * *

"_This is boring,"_ thought Sachiko as she walked beside Shisui. So far, the only places he had shown them were popular eating places in the village—not exactly a good idea of excitement for someone who had a mentality of an eighteen-year-old. Sasuke, on the other hand, was having the time of his young life. She was also getting anxious by the minute since she had promised Naruto that she would come over. Last night, she decided to take advantage of the newfound privilege her father had given her. The only problem now was getting away from Shisui.

Ignoring her elder cousin's droning about the best kinds of desserts and where to get them, Sachiko let her sight wander around. Aside from the myriad of people and buildings, the little Uchiha girl couldn't help but fix her gaze onto the birds that were perched on the wires of the towering electrical posts. At first, there were only a small flock of tree finches and other common brown birds. But as looked on, Sachiko noticed quite a number of pure white doves mixed in. And as far as her knowledge of the environment went, white doves weren't exactly common in this part of the world.

The weird part in all this was all the birds seemed to be staring back at her as she went past.

"Hey kids. How about a little treat before we go back home?" Shisui's voice snapped her back to reality. The three of them then stopped by a small café for some _anmitsu_. Unbeknownst to any of them. More birds had flown in to perch on the wires and the roofs of the shops and houses in front of the said café.

"An awful lot of dem birds coming in dis year," said one person at the nearby store as he paid for some groceries. "You think der's been a change in de flow of de wind?"

"Don't know," said the owner of the shop, "They must've thought that the tall buildings around here would be perfect for roosting. You know, they say that if you happen to see a white dove, you'd have good luck. No idea how long though."

"Well, it looks like we'd all be having good luck for a very long time," said a random passers-by, "White doves just keep coming in out of nowhere."

* * *

Sachiko was fidgeting in her seat. Sasuke sat in front of her. Their orders had just been taken a few moments ago, and Shisui took off to answer the call of nature, leaving the twins alone at their table. Sachiko looked at the clock; it read a quarter to noon. She couldn't take it anymore. "Sasuke," she said, "I can't stand it anymore. I'm going to meet Naruto now." With that, she immediately got up and ran out of the café.

"Sachiko, wait!" Sasuke called, getting up after her, "What about Cousin Shisui a-and dessert?"

By the time Shisui came back, he was in for the shock of his life upon finding the twins gone. "What the heck?" he said, looking around. "Wha…Where are they? Oh no!"

The waitress came by their table with the ordered food. Shisui quickly went to ask her if she had seen two kids, a boy and a girl, with backpacks. Unfortunately, the waitress answered with a 'no', saying that she had been in the kitchen the entire time beforehand.

Shisui was just about ready to pull his hair out when he dashed out of the café to look for the twins, much to the confusion of the waitress.

"Does this mean you want your order packed for take-out?"

* * *

"Sachiko, wait up!" Sasuke called out to his twin as the two of them raced through the bustling crowd with Sachiko in the lead. The said girl just kept on running forward, dodging people as if the street was a huge obstacle course.

The sounds of cooing, screeching, and beating wings made the twins and all the other people around them look up to the sky. Many were filled with awe at the sight of the birds (particularly the white doves) flying altogether. Sachiko on the other hand, couldn't help but feel a tad suspicious about their behavior. _"Are they following me?"_ was the first thought that crossed her mind, but that didn't stop her from running.

Meanwhile, Shisui was elbowing his way through the crowd, asking random people if they had seen two small children carrying backpacks.

* * *

Hokage Tower

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared out of his window in his office, watching the bizarre phenomena unfold. Inwardly, he concluded that there has been a change in the migration patterns of some of the birds that usually passed by the village, especially the white doves. But for some reason, his thoughts kept drifting back to the silver-eyed little girl he met the night before. At the night that they met, something began to surface from within the very depths of his subconscious—a very old and distant memory from the days of his youth. The memory was a bit unclear, but he remembers a fair young woman playing with birds. Sadly, that was all there was to it, for he couldn't exactly picture her face clearly; however, he does remember those gentle silver eyes that once looked at him with kindness—silver eyes just like the ones that Sachiko Uchiha possessed.

"_Is it even possible?"_ he mentally asked himself.

Even from the forests that surrounded Konoha, the commotion did not go unnoticed. Hidden within the large trees and thick foliage, a mysterious masked man with wild black hair watched the birds of the forest fly to the direction of the village.

"So," he muttered, "She has returned…"

* * *

At the ground floor of his apartment complex, Naruto sat diligently albeit a bit annoyed and sad at the same time. He had been waiting for a certain someone to come to visit since the early morning. It had been four hours, but still no sign of a familiar face. He sighed. He knew it; it was just really too good to be true. A lot of thoughts raced in his mind: Maybe Sachiko's parents somehow found out about him and forbade her to go see him. Or maybe she was just luring him into a false sense of kindness just to spite him.

He shook his head. No, that can't be right. Sachiko was just so sweet and kind to him yesterday. She even offered to help clean his filthy apartment and promised that she would come back. She wouldn't back out now, would she? Naruto continued on thinking about it as he watched the birds that had flown in the street in front of him saunter around.

"Naruto!" an all too familiar voice calls out to him. The birds fly off to make way for a black-haired, silver-eyed girl to come running toward him. Naruto's face brightened.

"Sachiko!" he yelled back and ran to meet her. "What took you so long? I was starting to think you wouldn't come." The said girl held up a hand, signaling for him to wait while she caught her breath. Then she straightened up, and patted her clothes clean of any dirt or dust.

"Sorry. A lot of things happened in the family. I'll explain on the way to that secret place you were talking about yesterday. Oh good, you have your own bag." Naruto gave her a wide toothy grin.

"Of course," he said. "I don't want to be left out when it comes to training. I thought about it last night, and now I've decided…" he trailed off.

"I wanna be Hokage, so people will acknowledge respect me as a person, and not some demon, believe it!"

Sachiko smiled. Naruto had already found something to live for at age three—earlier than in the manga. She thought that it was all good since it would get him to be more motivated than ever.

"_I'll train hard too, so I could help Naruto fulfill his dream… And maybe help spare those who deserve a second chance." _Her thoughts drifted to certain people in the Hyuuga Clan, then to two certain Mist ninja.

"So are you ready to go?" Naruto asked.

"You bet'cha!" replied Sachiko.

"Sachiko, wait!" Sasuke appeared a moment later, panting. "You could've at least slowed down, you know."

"Oh, sorry," apologized Sachiko. Naruto cast the other boy a puzzled look.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Naruto, this is Sasuke. He's my twin brother," she said. Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement. The golden-haired boy's eyes widened.

"You're twins?" he asked. He looked at the two of them carefully. "Well, you kinda look alike. But, he's a boy! How is it that you're twins when you don't even look the same?"

"Naruto, not all twins look alike," said Sachiko with a slight reprimanding tone.

"But…"

"I'll tell you when we're older," she said. _"Man that sounded weird."_

"Well, are we going or not?" Sachiko urged on.

"Ok, ok."

* * *

The trip wasn't exactly very long. Naruto's special place was only several minutes away. It was in the small forest near the Hokage Monument. (The birds somehow stopped following Sachiko, much to her relief)

"Here we are," said Naruto, confirming that their trek has now come to an end. The twins stared in wonder at the huge waterfall in front of them; however, there was something a little bit off. The waterfall, Sachiko suddenly noticed, didn't connect to the river; and the mountain in which the Hokage faces were carved onto didn't have one either. Also, there was no way for there to be a mountain spring.

Was it perhaps a product of a _Suiton_ jutsu?

Sachiko slowly went forward and attempted to touch the water, but the minute she held out her hand, she felt nothing.

"Huh?"

She made swatting motions with her hand through the waterfall, but she didn't feel any water.

"What's wrong?" asked a curious Sasuke.

"This waterfall," she answered. "Naruto, this waterfall isn't even real, is it?"

It was Naruto's turn to be curious. "What're you talking about?"

"Here, try to touch the water." The two boys did so. They got the same result as Sachiko did.

"You're right. There's nothing here," said Sasuke.

"But how could there be nothing when we can see it right there?" asked Naruto.

"It's simple you guys. This is genjutsu: an illusion," Sachiko answered. Both boys looked at her with raised eyebrows. _"It must've been put up so that Naruto wouldn't be found by villagers who want to hurt him."_

"What's a genjutsu?" they asked in unison. Sachiko slapped her forehead.

"_I forgot. They don't have the slightest clue on the different kinds of jutsu is or anything like that yet."_

"I'll explain later. Right now, let's get into the cave or whatever's behind this waterfall," said Sachiko.

"Okay!" said Naruto excitedly, and began shoving the twins through the genjutsu waterfall.

* * *

The cave itself was neither too big nor too small; in fact, it was big enough for a short person to go inside (taller people would have to bend slightly). There was only enough of nature's light to fill a small area close to the mouth of the cave. There was also a big elevated rock with a flat top on one side.

"This looks like a good table," said Sachiko, putting down her backpack and sitting down on the ground. The boys did the same.

"Okay, what're we supposed to do now?" asked Naruto as the only girl in the group began taking out some books and scrolls.

"We're learning," she said. "Before we get down to the real deal, we need to learn the basics first. By that, I mean reading, writing, math, history, and all that practical stuff." Sachiko spoke like a leader, acting in her spiritual age. She fell silent for a moment, expecting annoyed groans. Surprisingly, none came. The boys just looked at her.

"O-kay then," she went on. "Let's get started." Sachiko held up an alphabet book.

They spent the rest of the day learning about the basics of the Japanese alphabet with Sachiko acting as a tutor to the two boys. Inside, she was glad that her anime fandom had actually paid off.

They decided to call it a day after realizing that they had spent almost four hours. A normal child would have been already bored if they had been sitting on one spot for less, but they were so focused (even to Sachiko's surprise) on the task at hand that the three completely lost track of time. Naruto and Sasuke learned most of the material rather quickly; but only due to having Sachiko check and point out mistakes on their basic _kana_ sheets several times.

"Let's go on tomorrow, boys," Sachiko said, standing up. "We'll try to come by earlier. But for now, we have to go. Cousin Shisui was supposed to be keeping an eye on us."

"He must be pulling out his hair right now, trying to find us," said Sasuke which made Naruto laugh.

"Okay," he said, smiling toothily. The three quickly packed their things and bade each other goodbye.

* * *

Shisui sat upon a bench in the town park, moping. He had gone around every square inch of the village trying to find his charges, but all in vain. As he watched children play in the playground close by, he was trying to come up with excuses to explain to Fugaku. So far, nothing came up; and if there was anything, it sounded far too outrageous. Either way, he can't come back home without the twins.

"Fugaku's gonna have me killed," he muttered miserably to himself. "I know! I'll move out of Konoha, change my name, and live in the mountains as a hermit for the rest of my life!"

Fortunately, before he could even execute the aforementioned plans loud high-pitched voices made their way to the teen's ears. "Shisui-_niisan_!"

He turned around, and saw both Sachiko and Sasuke running up to him. A big relieved smile made its way onto Shisui's face. The teen ran up to meet the twins.

"You two got some nerve, ditching me like that!" he yelled. "You had me worried sick! Where have you been anyway? You know what would happen if your father found out about this?"

The twins remained quiet while their supposed sitter ranted on and on. Shisui finally stopped after a few minutes, catching his breath.

"Shisui," said Sasuke.

"What?!" snapped Shisui, clearly still miffed.

"People are staring," said Sachiko. Shisui looked around, and found that they were right. From the playground to the wide street were giving him a strange look. Some were even whispering.

"My, what is the matter with him?" Shisui heard someone whisper.

"Mom, why is that big kid yelling at the little kids?"

"That's because that big kid is being a bully."

"What the…? A bully?!" asked Shisui, now getting annoyed.

"Yeah, seriously, what kind of young man your age yells at little kids?" asked a random person, making Shisui dumbfounded.

"I…uh…"

"Let's just go home," said Sachiko as she and Sasuke took both of the teen's wrists and pulled him away.

* * *

**Note/s:**

**Itachi's age**--Itachi is at least six years older than Sasuke and Sachiko. With the twins being three, that makes Itachi nine years old. By then, he has already graduated from the academy (age 7). He'd be a chuunin a year later.

**Shisui**--We don't know anything about him, especially about what he looks like or how old he was, so I decided to make something up. By this time, he'd probably be in his early teens.

_**"Girl knows Japanese kana, say what?"**_--I know, it probably looks a tad Sue-ish that Sachiko knows Japanese kana (alphabet) at her current age without any kind of tutoring from an adult. But if you consider her situation (a fifteen year old anime otaku reborn with personality and knowledge still intact), it would seem understandable. Naruto and Sasuke, being kids with kid minds, won't notice this strange possession of knowledge until a little later.

**Bird season?**--Just what the heck it with the birds as of late? Did something change in their migration pattern? Why are they attracted to Sachiko? It never happened before, why now all of a sudden? You'll just have to wait for the answer, or if you want, you can figure it out for yourselves.

**Mysterious young woman**--She appeared as a shrine maiden in both Sachiko's dreams and the Third Hokage's fuzzy memory. She also seems to have a connection to Sachiko--even having the same shape and color of eyes. Who is she exactly?

**"She has returned"**--If you have read the entire chapter, you'd notice that I have mentioned a guy in a mask in the forests of Konoha saying this simple but enigmatic sentence as birds swarmed Konoha. What does he mean by it? Can you guess who he is? I'll give you a clue: He is not Kakashi.

**Yowza! Thirty-four reviews and more than two-thousand hits! Thank you! I'll try my best on the next chapter.**


End file.
